STRONG DEAL COUNT NOT REFLECTED IN VOLUME
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At mid-year 2026, the retail investment market presents a mixed picture. On the one hand, the number of transactions recorded was above the average of the past five years, with a comparable deal count last seen in the first half of 2022. At the same time, however, this has not translated into investment volume, which declined by almost 21% year-on-year to around €2.3bn. This was mainly due to very subdued market activity over the past three months, with only around €892m transacted in Q2. By contrast, the retail sector had demonstrated at the start of the year that quarterly volumes of almost €1.5bn remain achievable.
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What was missing most recently were larger volume drivers. Almost 95% of all deals in the second quarter were below the €50m mark, while just over 73% of investments even fell into the categories of up to €20m. Among the largest sales recorded so far this year were, in the portfolio segment, the disposal of the Powerfoods portfolio, comprising 37 food stores and retail parks, and, in the single-asset segment, the trophy high-street assets Alsterhaus in Hamburg, Alte Akademie in Munich and the Höfe am Brühl shopping centre in Leipzig.
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Not least due to the aforementioned high-street investments, both high-street properties, at just over 22%, and department stores, at around 12%, recorded improved results. However, the food and retail park segment remains clearly dominant, accounting for more than 51% of volume and 58% of deals. Shopping centres also achieved a solid market share of almost 14%.